Wednesday, July 1, 2015

More of John Lounsbery's work, this time undisputedly brilliant.
The crocodile in Peter Pan is for the most part a comedic villain, even it he ate one of Captain Hook's hands. Lounsbery animated the introductory scenes, as the croc approaches the ship in hopes to get the rest of Hook. This little sequence of beautiful rough animation drawings is not complete, it misses the pose above. Nevertheless, you can see the brain work that went into animating the scene, as the croc moves upward toward Smee, who is trying to shoo it away.
Look at how the reptile body raises up, back first, then neck, then the head. All to the musical tick tock beat. This is a complex scene, gorgeously executed. That's why we love Lounsbery!
The magic of pencil animation!

Here is a fun Milt Kahl pre-production drawing, the crocodile with bulging eyes.